Tuesday, September 8, 2015

August Favorites!!

Gosh, August flew by. The fact that it's now September is kind of crazy. I'm trying my best to get used to all of the schedules, homework, etc so that I can be semi-organized, especially seeing as things just get busier and busier these next few months with rehearsals and the holiday season! I'm kind of a Christmas freak, I absolutely adore it- but I'd really like to not think about it for a while. Got to tackle this semester first!

Also, I just have to throw it out there- I ACTUALLY AM POSTING THIS ON TIME. IT'S A MIRACLE.

Sorry. That never happens, so I kind of have to celebrate on the rare occasion that it does!

Let's get into the favorites!!

(Sorry about photo quality- I'm still not able to edit any pictures at this point so all of these are either from my phone or are photos that I've already used on here before. SORRY!!!)

Beauty:

This eyeliner is absolutely fabulous! It's completely changed my views on eyeliner over the past month. If you remember, I got this in my Walmart Summer Beauty Box a few months ago. At the time I thought it was cool, but I never wore eyeliner, so I really didn't pay that much attention to it. So for the majority of July, it just stayed in my makeup bag. But towards the end of July or the beginning of August, I really started to play around with it, and a miracle happened.

I could apply eyeliner.

For me, that is a gigantic feat. I'm usually horrible with eyeliner. But this has really helped me to get better at applying it, and now I'm even starting to get the hang of wearing regular liquid eyeliner! I'm still not fabulous at it by any means, but I can actually wear eyeliner now, which I'm kind of loving.

This is another Summer Beauty Box item that I didn't really like until later. If you remember, I tried this mascara at the time and pretty much hated it- the brush did absolutely nothing for my eyelashes. I really like long, thick lashes, and this didn't provide that at all. What I realized, however, was that this is fabulous for using on your lower lashes!!! Since it's a tester size, it's perfect for the smaller lashes, and it doesn't smear under my eye like some mascaras do. I've definitely been loving that.

Books:

I did a TON of reading this past month, so this is a fairly long category!

Every Soul A Star by Wendy Mass. If you read my blog during August, then you know how much I was freaking out over this book. I originally got it from the library, and then ended up purchasing my own copy at a local book sale. If I tried to explain this book, I would end up writing like, six paragraphs, so I'll just say this- if you ever see it at a library, please, pick it up! You won't regret it. It is just such an incredible book. I may have to do a full review on it at some point- would anyone be interested in reading that? Or have I already fangirled over it enough? ;)

I know, I know, I'm kind of late getting into The Hunger Games, but I'm really glad that I did. Honestly, I didn't have super high expectations for this book. I mean, I figured that I would enjoy it, but I kind of had it a bit stereotyped as being too teen-cliche-ish. I don't know. I've wanted to read it for a while, so that I could understand why everyone loved it. Well, now I do!! I still need to read Catching Fire and Mockingjay, but this was a great start. I'm probably going to write a full review of this, even though I know that there are like, a million reviews of it. It was a lot more thought-provoking than I expected, and it was just overall a really good book.

(edit: I actually wrote this post last week, and since then, I HAVE READ CATCHING FIRE!! OH MY GOSH IT WAS AMAZINGGGGGGGG. Okay, fangirl contained.)

Grabbed this off of Google Images because I didn't have a picture of my own- got this book from the library!

The Romeo and Juliet Code by Phoebe Stone was a really great book, also one that was better than I expected. It felt a bit young at times- I'm pretty sure the recommended age for this novel was like, 12. But I actually enjoyed it. Which leads me to my next favorite....

Also grabbed this from Google Images..

The sequel!! I actually enjoyed this book more than I did the first, although it was really sad at the end. Why do my favorite characters always die??? Despite the sadness of it, it's a really good book that I would definitely recommend. Even if you didn't really love the first book, stick around for the second- it's worth it.

Randomness:

My planner has been kind of saving my life recently. I'll have to do a post on it to show you all, but it's been keeping me much more organized. I still need to work on organization, but this really helps. Plus, it has a quote every day, which I love!!!

I've mentioned this a ton, but frozen lemonades were also amazing this month. Agh now I want one! xD

10 comments:

I've never tried eyeliner, mostly because if it ended up looking good I'd have to add it to my morning routine of getting ready each morning and then I'd get no sleep and make everyone hate me haha. But congratulations! It looks like no small task.

I stereotype popular books all the time. Probably because books like Twilight and Fifty Shades are so popular. If my sister hadn't liked The Hunger Games I probably would never have read them, but no here I am fangirling over a new Mockingjay still that's not even all that exciting : /.

I'm glad you saw the thought-provoking side of THG. Too many people read it and think it's just about killing people and the freaking love triangle. *Are you Team Peeta or Team Gale because obviously there's nothing more to a teenage series besides romance* *rubs head and pretends not to hear the Twilight fan's nonsense*

Oooh yay I'd love a full review!

YES CATCHING FIRE IS SOOOO GOOD AND THE MOVIE FOR IT IS PERFECTION.

Just an FYI if you're planning on reading Mockingjay anytime soon make sure you are in a very happy mood before starting, have ice cream in the freezer (preferably a flavor that complements the taste of tears) and tissues. Sooo many tissues.

So I'm curious about the frozen lemonade thing. I've never seen any before but I don't go to Burger King often, so idk. Is it like a slushy or just really good, cold lemonade? I'll look for them.

Yeahhhh, eyeliner is definitely no small task haha! I don't wear it everyday, only when I decide I actually have time. In other words, once a century xD

I've reallly got to stop stereotyping things and just READING them. But with that junk out there, it's so hard!!

Oh my gosh, that drives me crazy. I know several people who honestly think of it along those lines, AND IT'S NOT LIKE THAT. IT'S SO MUCH MORE!!!!!!!! Gah. Definitely writing a review, just to throw the thought-provoking opinion out there haha.

OH MY GOSH I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE MOVIE!!!!

Oh gosh. That will have to be a full-Saturday activity. I'd better run to the store for a few gallons of ice cream, be right back...

It's really like a slushie, although it's not quite as thick and icy as some, which I actually really like. I'm not a huge fan of giant chunks of ice in drinks. They're super good though, you should definitely try one. They also have good ones at McDonald's. (I've done my research, I'm sure you can't tell xD)

Like, love is a big part of the story and everything, but when Twihards read it it's like, "Blah, blah, blah, Katniss fighting for her life, battling PTSD, societal divides, nothing noteworthy, GALE KISSES KATNISS, PEETA KISSES KATNISS OMG NOW THIS IS GETTING GOOD."

Plus I've always sympathized with the "evil" Careers. Idk if you've seen the first movie yet but they add a scene that kind of makes you think about how they weren't just ruthless killers. I don't get how movie fans can watch the scene and think it's all about the killing for them.

It's soooo good. You can watch the second one on Netflix, but the others you have to rent somewhere or buy them. It's funny cuz you'd think that someone with a crazy personality like JLaw wouldn't make a good Katniss but she's amazing as her. I could go on about how perfect casting was…but I won't.

Who was your favorite character in Catching Fire?

Sounds great! I love lemonade sooo much. I love winter weather, but then people think it's weird to be drinking lemonade. Can we just make it cultural norm to be able to drink lemonade whatever the season?

EXACTLY!!!!! Like, I admit, I fangirl over a good love triangle just as much as the next person. BUT IT'S NOT THE ONLY PART OF THE BOOK PEOPLE PLEASE!!!!

Yeah, I haven't seen the movie yet- it needs to happen!!! But I've never really thought that the Careers were all bad either. I mean, they're just kids..

Ahhhhh I need to watch these desperately. I've seen some YouTube clips, and she really does seem perfect for the role.

Oh gosh...this is a loaded question. Hmm. Cinna's still my favorite, for sure. (GAHH HE MAKES ME SO EMOTIONAL HELP) But I also seriously love Madge, and Haymitch, and Effie, I can't help but feel bad for Gale, I adored Mags, Johanna was pretty cool, Finnick's great, Plutarch is amazing....I JUST LOVE THEM ALL!!

I like love triangles all right but nowadays authors just make them everywhere and I'd just like to see a YA book that doesn't have one. The Hunger Games one is nice though, cuz it's deeper than physical appearances and how nice the guy is. Katniss has an actual REASON to be conflicted.

That movie has amazing actors/actresses too.

When Cinna made the mockingjay wedding dress….ugh, the feels. My favorites (just some haha) are Finnick and Mags and Annie (you'll hear more about her in Mockingjay. Plus nearly all the readers like Finnick a lot more in Mockingjay too). Plutarch is almost better in the movies (he's great in the book too tho) because the actor (rip Phillip Seymour Hoffman) portrayed him so well.

Yeah, that would be really nice. I actually kind of like the one in HG though, just because it actually makes SENSE. It's not just, "Oh, so-and-so is so hot, but so is so-and-so."

I died. I literally died. That was the best thing ever. Ahhh, I love those three. I can't wait to read more about Annie and Finnick in Mockingjay. Now I really need to see the movies!! It's so sad that the actor who played Plutarch died..